February 5, 2015

Stuff and Things 2/5

+This might be the most terrible thing I've ever read. Like, how can you be so nonchalant about forgetting to take care of your pet? I admit that I sometimes neglect the dogs' teeth, or they don't get to play outside as much when it's muddy, or I haven't been giving tick medication to them since we moved here because we don't really have ticks in Colorado...but to say the last nice thing you ever did for your dog was when you let him smell your newborn's hat before you brought the baby home from the hospital, years ago?. I really (like, really) hope this is a satire.

+I deactivated my Facebook. Part of me is ready to give Instagram the boot too. The fact that filtering is encouraged gives everything a rosy glow and I don't know how I feel about that.

+Maybe I'm just bitter.

+I'll tell you what I am bitter about: The Newbery Medal. The winners were announced this week and, while I don't have a better suggestion, 2014 had to have a more substantial contribution to children's literature than this:

Maybe I just believe that the genre of children's literature is being funneled into cultural subsets. But I would never, ever read this book. It's too narrow. I mean, I've read Roll of Thunder, I've enjoyed The Watsons Go to Birmingham, but those are about historically important time periods. I'm not going to read a book about basketball. I'm just not and I won't buy it for my classroom because, unless I (as a teacher) really push a medal winner on the kids, they're apt to just choose the same old I Survived or Geronimo Stilton books for themselves. I just cannot believe that out of all these contenders, a book like Crossover won. It's a crooked, crooked system.

And one of the runners up, reminded me of another current gripe I have.

I HATE books that are written in stanzas. I've ordered 3 books (including this one) from the book order in the last few months that I thought would be really interesting and they're all written this way. As soon as I see that, it goes on the shelf and maybe a kid will read it. Maybe this is because I also hate poetry, but that is neither here nor there. Though Brown Girl Dreaming, a Newbery Honor book this year, looks like it could be slightly more interesting than that basketball thing.

If you're looking for a "winner" amongst the winners, I haven't read any of them. I contemplated Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin but I'm iffy about animal stories and I've already ordered The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming.

+I had a mocha from Starbucks on Tuesday and I suppose I just hadn't had one in awhile, but it was so sweet that I could hardly drink it. I have no idea what they put in it. It was just my standard "non-fat, no whip" but the lady apparently had some trouble pumping the syrup. I felt ill the rest of the day. Back to Americanos.

+I sincerely hope that things are going well on your end. Truly. I hope the first week of February has treated you well. One more work day. After today of course.

13 comments:

I will say, once I had a kid, my relationship with my dog changed. Probably because of the type of dog he is (typical border collie - jumpy, barks, energetic, perfect for the farm). However, we still took care of him, and brought him out for walks, and cut his nails, and so on. He just wasn't treated as "the baby" anymore, and he got yelled at much more, unfortunately. He also didn't come with us to Korea, for a few good reasons, and he's doing much better on the farm in Colorado with Grandma and Grandpa.

You've had such a rough week friend :( I've come to realize that many of my starbucks drinks just taste WAY too sweet for me now. I guess we've officially crossed the boarder into "full adult" because I actually like to taste some coffee in my coffee now! Replying to your email soon. <3

Your laptop???! I want to cry for you, friend! And I'm about ready to say goodbye to Facebook, too. I just feel like what the heck is the point? Advertisements and stupid articles and politics and stupid crap that wastes all my time. I'll check in with you after a bit and see how you're liking it!

I too hate stanzas, they're just such a faff to read. But then I also hate poetry, too. I'm glad I'm not the only one! Enjoy your blissfully Facebook-free week next week, hope it's better than this one!

Sorry to hear about the laptop. And the filters on IG frustrate me, too. But I still like it better than FB. And I'm sorry you're having a crappy week. Hugs.

I only skimmed that article about kids and dogs. Yes, my relationship with my dogs changed when I had my daughter but I love them as much as I did when they were puppies and also, the author of that article just comes across like a huge asshole. I know plenty of people who feel the exact opposite than she does when it comes to kids and dogs. Ah. I have to stop talking about this. I can feel my blood boiling.

im sorry about your laptop :( that dog article is disgusting. i dont have a dog (here) but i do have cats and i can't stand when people tell me i will feel differently about them when i have kids. no. you dont know me and my cats. i know i will love my kids, i'm not stupid. but i'm not suddenly become this horrible person who doesn't care about her cats. no. how rude!